I have been looking for one of these for some time. I posted a WTB on the forums here, and I was on the cusp of a deal with someone when he mysteriously stopped responding and disappeared. Distraught at having let this white whale slip through my net, I posted a WTB on Sturmgewehr, not really expecting much.
To my surprise, someone in Massachusetts replied a couple days later, saying he had one that had been sitting in the back of his safe for the past 20 years. After several weeks of researching and some delays, we arrived at a deal, and I picked the gun up today.
It's a Schwarzlose model 1908 (1909 in Europe, it would seem). One of 3 blow-forward pistols I know of (the others being the Japanese Hino-Komuro and the Austrian/Swiss Mannlicher 1894...both on my bucket list!).
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
Serial 762.
Forums member Fritz has posted about one, serial number "1," that he believed belonged to Emperor Wilhelm. Fritz noted that on the inside of the "slide" it was stamped 181, so serial 1 couldn't be correct, and may have just been there for presentation purposes. Interestingly, mine also has the number 181 on the inside!
I'm delighted that the gun arrived in such excellent condition. There are a couple nicks on it, but otherwise, it's like-new.
I've put two rounds through it, just to test the function. The recoil was sharp and seemingly unpleasant, but I'll report back when I've put a few more magazines through it. I'd like to spend more time seeing if I can detect the forward movement of the "slide."
I'm pretty excited that the hunt for this white whale is over. And I couldn't believe how easy it ended up being - just a simple WTB post!
Now, on to the next one...
To my surprise, someone in Massachusetts replied a couple days later, saying he had one that had been sitting in the back of his safe for the past 20 years. After several weeks of researching and some delays, we arrived at a deal, and I picked the gun up today.
It's a Schwarzlose model 1908 (1909 in Europe, it would seem). One of 3 blow-forward pistols I know of (the others being the Japanese Hino-Komuro and the Austrian/Swiss Mannlicher 1894...both on my bucket list!).
Serial 762.
Forums member Fritz has posted about one, serial number "1," that he believed belonged to Emperor Wilhelm. Fritz noted that on the inside of the "slide" it was stamped 181, so serial 1 couldn't be correct, and may have just been there for presentation purposes. Interestingly, mine also has the number 181 on the inside!
I'm delighted that the gun arrived in such excellent condition. There are a couple nicks on it, but otherwise, it's like-new.
I've put two rounds through it, just to test the function. The recoil was sharp and seemingly unpleasant, but I'll report back when I've put a few more magazines through it. I'd like to spend more time seeing if I can detect the forward movement of the "slide."
I'm pretty excited that the hunt for this white whale is over. And I couldn't believe how easy it ended up being - just a simple WTB post!
Now, on to the next one...
